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Social Learning - what works?

Here are couple of articles that I wrote that were recently published on Training Industry:

How to Build a Successful Social Learning Platform

Most L&D professionals believe in the benefit of social learning platforms for supporting learning and knowledge transfer, but the concept and the reality of actually designing, building and launching one are often very different. Designing a social learning platform that really works, and then attracting and retaining members of that community, isn’t easy, which is why so many social learning platforms end up fizzling out and being abandoned within a few months – or fail to launch entirely. What can learning professionals do to ensure that their social learning platform is a success?

Why Businesses Fail to Support Social Learning

Social learning remains one of the most misunderstood components of modern workplace learning strategy. Many managers are still stuck in the mindset that social learning means “wasting time on social media” – and while social learning can indeed take place on mainstream social platforms, it’s far from a time-wasting exercise. Social learning is really a natural part of an effective learning experience whether online or offline.

Social learning is a challenge for many organisations to truly harness its value. What are your own thoughts and experiences?

Let's share them here and benefit from a little social learning ourselves :-)

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i just read your article How to Build a Successful Social Learning Platform and i agree with all of your tips. were in the middle of this process now and i have been suggesting the use of interactive tools such as forums and gamification to attract and maintain our users but we are always looking for new ways to keep interest.

Badges are another tool we want to start using soon but since im the only Admin in our system i just have to find the time.

Thanks for sharing these articles with us. this site is not as active as i would hope with all the many things you can do with Totara.

Best

Christina

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Hi Christina,

Thanks for getting in touch with your feedback about the articles. It would be interesting if you could share more about your project in the Community.

If you're thinking about using badges then do take a look at our course on open badges. Here's a piece from the course: open badges in a nutshell, that might give you some more ideas as you start to use open badges in your system.

Good luck with your project as you progress.

Matt

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Hi Christina,

I thought I'd check in with you and see how you are getting on with your social learning initiative? Do share what you've been doing and found works, doesn't work, and any suggestions for improving how Totara supports your objectives. I think then more people will also join the conversation and share their stories and ideas :-)

Here's another article on How to Create a Thriving Learning Community - hope it's useful.

Cheers

Lars

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Hi,

Here's another article I've written that relates to building a learning community.

How to Create a Thriving Learning Community

Here's the intro:

In a 2017 Brandon Hall survey, only one-third of participating organizations had a defined knowledge-sharing strategy. For 72 percent of organizations, email was the most common method for knowledge-sharing, while 30 percent had no forums or communities in which to ask questions and share ideas. No wonder only 20 percent believed that their knowledge-sharing efforts were effective.

Knowledge-sharing is only one of the benefits of developing and sustaining a vibrant learning community and culture across your organization. When it forms a core element of the overall learning and development experience, not only does it accelerate the adoption of new behaviors, skills and knowledge in individuals, but it also does so across the organization. No matter the size of your organization, you probably have to accommodate virtual team-working. Developing and sustaining an active and engaged learning community is, therefore, essential to ensuring that your organization remains coordinated and agile, responds well to change, and so can remain competitive in fast-changing and uncertain market conditions.

Read more here...

Any thoughts and comments welcome!

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